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We are here today, united in the same objective: to pay tribute to Manuel de Brito on the first anniversary of the date on which departed.

Death always leaves a mark of orphanhood on those who are closer. In Manuel de Brito’s case this mark was extended to many people who, for various reasons, were linked to him.

If a life is justified by the links that it establishes, then Manuel de Brito fully justifies his and he has left behind a trail that we know will not be obscured.

Why?

Because, since Portugal is the country of saudade (or yearning), there are many kinds of yearning that can affect us when those we love depart, especially on the final journey. A negative yearning that paralyses us, one to which we are all entitled during a period of time, though it will not take us far.

But there is a positive yearning, too, and this is the one that brings us together here, today.

In this case, everyone swathed in this yearning may ask themselves what would Manuel de Brito be doing if here were here today.

The answer is easy; he would be doing what he always did.

Going ahead with his projects with a great deal of dedication and hard work as a labour of love. In the specific case of Manuel de Brito the labour of love was his love of the arts.

As we all know, he would be doing what he always did and knew how to do so well that he became a recognised figure in the art world and an example of the spirit of initiative; able to do so much with little or next to nothing. This, after all, is the story of his life.

Therefore, for such a person, the tribute that we are paying him here, today, is a tribute well suited to the man he was.

His descendants were well aware of how to interpret what he would have liked them to do. And they did it.

They let neither his name nor his soul die. Bless them! It would seem that it would be normal for this to happen, but unfortunately it is not. We know full well that perseverance, battles and sometimes even stubbornness are required. In this particular case there was all that… and it worked.

And it also worked because there was a coming together of public will and private will that lead to the successful conclusion of initiatives of this kind, which generally come up against many and varied difficulties, often of a financial nature.

It is mainly in this field that uniting will can overcome many barriers, and finally, when we look at that that stands before us here, today, we known that it was all worth while, very worth while.

For all.

For the family, for Oeiras and for the whole of society which has become richer.

It is easy to imagine how happy Manuel would be to see that his dream, for which he strove throughout all his life, continues through the hands of his family and of many others who admired him and liked him well.